Regular readers know I am a huge Windows Phone fan and many think I write about them too much. It was great to read the news this morning that Nokia's Lumia sales for Q4 2012 were better than expected and it is a small move in the right direction. I hope to see Windows Phone catch on with the consumer at some point, but I am personally most excited to try out the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS and new devices running BB10.

If you listened to the MobileTechRoundup podcast last year, you likely heard Kevin and me writing off RIM after they skipped doing much in 2012.

RIM didn't make any major hardware or operating system moves in 2012, but they did make leadership changes and were able to keep things going. 2013 looks to be a defining year for RIM as they get ready to reveal BB 10 to the world at the end of this month.

From the hands-on videos I have seen and articles I have read, BB 10 looks extremely modern and reminds me a bit of the fantastic MeeGo operating system that Nokia prematurely gave up on while also adding in some unique elements we haven't really seen before on other modern smartphone operating systems.

Carriers have always supported RIM and appreciated their data management practices. It seems that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are on board, along with something like 150+ carriers around the world, which is pretty compelling when you consider it is a brand new operating system.

It seems to me that Windows Phone appears on carriers due to pressure and money from Microsoft and manufacturers, whereas carriers seem to want to sell new BB 10 devices. Customers are familiar with older BlackBerry devices and trust RIM to make rock solid hardware -- so there may be a trust factor there as well.

I recently bought a red Nokia Lumia 920 and am reasonably pleased with the device. I am disappointed that there are still software gaps in Windows Phone 8; and the more I use it, the more I go back to using Android or iOS because of frustrations with everyday usage scenarios that just are not fully satisfying on Windows Phone. Windows Phone 8 appears nearly the same as Windows Phone 7 so it has been around now for over two years.

As a smartphone enthusiast, I like new and shiny things and BlackBerry 10 looks to be the most exciting thing I have seen in a couple years and I can't wait to give the Z10 a try.